


The Perks of Being Married.

by danioxxx



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Conversations, Fluff and Angst, M/M, probably infidelity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 04:54:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6456703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danioxxx/pseuds/danioxxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eddie is drunk and Barry is the one who has to take care of him.<br/>It takes place during 'Rogue Air' after Eddie and Iris break up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Perks of Being Married.

The lights were dim but it wasn’t hard to see him slumped on the bar, he made his way through the crowd, carefully avoiding contact with the other patrons at the place. There was a lot of liquid spilled on the floor and there was a broke jukebox near the restrooms playing the same song over and over again.

Barry came near him, and put his hand on the stool next to the other man, he asked him if he minded that he was here and the other man just nodded. He looked disheveled, his hair was a mess and his shirt was wrinkled. When he turn to look at Barry he noticed that he was not annoyed by his presence, he didn’t seemed mad or disappointed, just plain sad.

This man was like a light beacon, each time he entered a room it seemed like he was shining and he felt like everything was going to be okay. But Eddie had been wrecked, and it was his fault.

“Is he your friend?” the bartender approached him, he looked old but not exactly tired, like he was ready to live a thousand years more. He signaled the other man with a stern glance and Barry quickly confirmed the question, “you should take him home, he has been drinking quite a lot”.

“Not enough” Eddie added, holding a bottle but not actually drinking from it.

“Yeah, I’m here to pick him up” he answered, he took the other man’s arm and try to support it around his shoulder, Eddie didn’t try to accommodate himself around Barry’s body. They were ready to turn when he heard the bartender clearing his throat. Barry glanced down to the bar to see a small piece of paper.

“The tab” the bartender pushed the piece of paper toward Barry, “who is going to pay?” Barry took the piece of paper to see how much money he would need to spend and when he saw the number he almost passed out. The man had been serious when he said that Eddie had drank quite a lot, Barry was surprised but he just took out Eddie’s wallet from his jacket, thanking God that it hadn’t been on the other’s man pants and took some money from it, then he proceeded to take his own wallet and put some more bills on the bar.

“Good, now take your friend home” he said, and then went to attend some other drunk on the other side of the bar. Barry and Eddie finally left the place.

It surprised him how far has the other man driven just to get to a bar and drink away his sorrows. But maybe he knew that it he stayed in Central City he would have been found earlier. Iris had called him asking for help, saying that Eddie hadn’t arrived to their apartment and that she was sick worried. It killed him hearing her so sad, that’s why he decided to look for Eddie, it took him almost 45 minutes to find him and only because the blond guy decided to leave the city behind. But maybe he needed to leave the city behind, after all his life was perfect before he came to the city.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m so sorry” said Barry holding Eddie’s jacket on his arms and seeing as the other man was throwing up against a wall. He had tried to take Eddie to his apartment aided by his superspeed but the effects had been quite discouraging.

“It’s not your fault,” the detective said, “it’s never your fault” Barry could feel the bitterness on his voice but didn’t said anything. He realized that they couldn’t just walk back to the city and he didn’t want to risk Eddie getting sick if he tried to use his superspeed again. He decided on taking the other men into a place to stay, Barry hoped that they were close to a hotel or something similar.

He took out his phone, thankful that there was signal and looked for a place for them to stay, he discovered that there was a motel 82 feet away and decided that they could easily walk that distance while he took care of Eddie. Barry just waited until the other man was ready to leave, at this point he was just dry heaving, and he looked even worse than before.

Barry asked him if he was okay and he just nodded as a reply, so they continued on their way.

Their walk to the motel was silent, and Barry hated that, Eddie has always been son cheerful and full of life, always on commenting on things and never being one to miss a chance to say something good. Sometimes he might mess up by saying something out of place, but Barry found that quite endearing, after all, he was also one to screw up every once in a while, having no mouth-to-brain filter.

Barry tried to make him laugh by commenting on things that had happened on S.T.A.R Labs or by telling him some stories of his time on school, like the time he made a mess all over his science classroom, even though they were only doing the baking soda volcano. Eddie just hummed in agreement, every once in a while but he didn’t seem to snap out of it.

Barry gave up.

After a few minutes, Eddie finally decided that it was time to say something.

“She will pick you” he whispered, almost inaudible but Barry stilled heard him, “I was a fool because I saw the signs from the beginning but I believed that Iris would choose me, and then I tried, and I tried and I fought so hard thinking that I could make her love me, but at the end she will never pick me”.

There was no one around to hear them, not a single soul around to hear what Eddie had just said, but Barry felt ashamed, like he had been put on trial, he felt judged even though there was no one judging him.

The detective continued.

“It was you, it has always been you” he could heard the bitterness again in the accusation, it broke his heart seeing Eddie in his current state, but hearing him saying those things, he was devastated.

But Eddie was worse than him, and it was Harrison’s fault, no, the Reverse Flash. That man was not happy after being the one who killed his mother, it was not enough to qualm his hatred, so he decided to torture Barry, he pretended to be his friend and then he betrayed them, the whole team. And now he had gone against his friend and had crushed him. He humiliated Eddie and destroyed his hopes and dreams.

The detective waited for Barry to say anything but since he had nothing to say, at least nothing that could fix the other man, he continued with his accusation.

“And why wouldn’t she? You’re smart, you’re funny and handsome” that made Barry feel like something was crawling under his skin. “You’re the Flash, you are the hero.”

It was painful to Barry hearing Eddie saying those things, the detective was a good man, he was worth it, he wouldn’t say it out loud but sometimes he feels jealous of the detective, and he wonders why he doesn’t see the amazing person that Barry sees. “Even I would choose you over me” he heard Eddie said and turned to see him.

Barry stopped, he tried to say something, anything. He couldn’t just let his friend in this self-destructive state. He didn’t deserve it.

The detective couldn’t see it, but he was Barry’s hero. He remembered that day in which both Captain Cold and Heatwave had attacked. He had faced a lot of metahumans before, each one more dangerous than the one before, and he had defeated them at the end. Who could have said that the first time he feared for his life would have been against to normal human beings? Equipped with weapons specifically designed to destroy him.

He remembered, like if it was happening at the moment. He could see the crooks approaching, pointing their guns at him. He could see the exact moment in which they pushed the trigger. He remembered how he felt, he was scared for his life, and he was disappointed on himself for not being smart enough, for not being fast enough. He could see the beams coming at him, slowly like that moment had actually spanned for hours even though it was just a matter of seconds.

He sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, after having nightmares of that moment, nightmares in which he was alone on that street and no one there to save him. He was alone at the mercy of the two villains who had already decided to kill.

But that was not the case, because he also remembered the best part of that moment. Someone had jumped in front of the beams with one shield to protect him. That man had been Eddie.

Eddie was just wearing his regular suit, but Barry sometimes imagined that he had been wearing his own superhero costume, with mask and everything, and that he had stopped the beams with his own hands, not shield in sight. Then he would look at him, grinning and he would say that he was there, he was always going to be there for him. Because Eddie was his hero, he had saved his life, Wells could tell him that his life account to nothing but Barry knew different.

He was about to tell him that when he noticed that Eddie was shaking, Barry quickly approached him, when he noticed that Eddie was trying to suppress a smile. Suddenly he started to laugh.

Barry couldn’t understand what was so funny. But he didn’t have because Eddie was quick to explain.

“I would marry you” he continued laughing while Barry felt his heart pounding furiously, his face started to heat up and he could feel like the air was escaping his lungs. “Would you marry me?” asked the other man, trying to contain his laughter but at the same time challenging him. Barry could feel it.

Eddie was finally smiling, but it was not his usual smile, he would light up the entire room every time he smiled, he would make Barry feel something in his stomach that he couldn’t comprehend. But this smile, it looked similar, but it wasn’t.

It was somber.

And Eddie’s eyes, they were piercing into his very soul. He was decided, he was challenging Barry. _‘Who are you going to choose?’_ He said, _‘will you choose me?’_ That man was not playing around, he actually wanted Barry to say anything.

But he didn’t.

 

* * *

 

 

After some more minutes of awkward silence they finally made their way and Barry got a room for two. The place was not exactly appalling, but it wasn’t a place he would like to frequent. They were just staying there for one night and they could forget about this night after that.

The room was just big enough to contain twin bed and what seemed to be a wardrobe. Three of the walls were painted green and one of them was painted pink, and there was a door that seemed to lead to a bathroom. He wanted to clean up the place a bit because he knew that Eddie could use it.

But the detective decided it was a good moment to start laughing again.

“What’s going on?” Barry asked quite concerned of what could be going around the detective’s head. The other man noticed him and started taking off his shoes.

“I just realized how we could stop Wells?” he started unbuckling his belt, but Barry ignored that at the moment, curious of what the other man had to say, he made a gesture for the detective to continue.

“We have to get married” he said as if that was the most obvious solution to the problem.

“I don’t understand” he clearly didn’t understand. How was that going to stop Wells? There was obviously something missing that Barry was not getting. Eddie just stared at him for a minute and when he realized that Barry was not getting it he began his explanation.

“Barry, he is my descendant” he said as a matter of fact, he stopped for a moment to let Barry discover what he was trying to say, but he just couldn’t understand what was the point of them getting married.

Was Eddie challenging him again? Was he just doing this because he wanted Barry to say that he would choose to marry him? That someone in the world would choose him. That he mattered.

“I just don’t get it”

“Barry, it won’t matter how many times we have sex, I cannot get you pregnant” the detective said slowly, trying to get his point across. And now that he thought about it, it was kind of obvious what Eddie was trying to say.

Barry could swear that the temperature in the room was heating up, then he noticed a little detail that had completely escaped his attention. During the whole conversation Eddie had removed all of his clothes except for his underwear, to get comfortable and go to sleep, since he couldn’t actually sleep on his suit.  Barry could feel the blood rushing to his face, and to his southern regions.

Pictures of him and Eddie on the bed were flooding his imagination, Eddie on top of him, kissing his neck leaving marks that would quickly disappear because of his powers, with a caress of his hand over his ski he would make his feel like burning, and he would ravish him viciously leaving a trail of kisses that would send sparks to every direction.

He should not be thinking about this now, or not ever. He just imagined his best friend’s boyfriend fucking him, what is wrong with him?

Eddie, who was unaware of the effect he was having on the scientific keep going on, “and our everyday would benefit too” he said a little more vibrant, “you already help solve the cases on the CCPD, and I could give you some detective insight to help you capture those metahumans”

Barry couldn’t believe how much thought the other man had given to the situation, but then again just a moment ago he was sulking in a bar about how he was unlovable, also he was still drunk. So anything he was saying was probably because he was under the effects of the alcohol.

Eddie didn’t mean any of that.

But he still continued.

“Also, it is easier to buy gifts, I guess” the detective continued talking about other benefits of them being married and though at first he felt kind of weird, after some minutes he started having fun and then he started giving his own insight into the matter.

It was fun, they were just having fun. They were two friends talking about getting married, it’s not the first time something like this happened. Not to them, but Barry wanted to imagine that the moment was something normal, that friends sometimes talked about things like that. He didn’t want to believe he was having fun because he actually pictures something like that ever happening.

After a while Barry decided that it was better if Eddie went to sleep so he made his way to the bathroom to wash his face when he felt that someone was tugging at his sleeve. Eddie pulled him into his direction, and even though Barry’s reflexes were fast enough to register everything that was happening, he decided not to do anything.

Just for one night.

Just for one night he was choosing Eddie, and Eddie was choosing him.

Barry was pulled into Eddie’s chest and in a quick movement Eddie turned them around and dropped Barry in one of the beds.  He then fall on top of the other guy.

Just for one night they were forgetting everything and they were choosing each other.

Because the symptoms were different, but the pain was the same. The feeling of unfulfillment, the doubts. Barry knew that if he let this continue then there was not going back. But he wanted it, he wanted him. He wanted to feel for one night that the world was not weighing on his shoulder, that there was someone out there ready to help him ease the pain.

To save him.

To be his hero.

Eddie was on top of him, Barry could hear him breathing. He looked unsure, his eyes lingered on the scientist lips, then he lick his own lips, something that the detective used to do most of the time and that always distracted him.

Eddie leaned on for a kiss, and Barry just closed his eyes.

Except that the kiss didn’t happen. Barry suddenly felt the weight of the detective on top of him and he opened his eyes to see him that he had fallen asleep.

Barry just laughed at that, he tried to think of a way to get off of the bed without waking up the detective above him, but he just couldn’t think on a way to do it. It was not a big deal after all. Barry decided to follow Eddie and sleep as well. He was tired, but that was not the real reason he decided not to go to his own bed.

 

* * *

 

The light was coming in from the window, it was all over his face and it was actually annoying him. He didn’t want to wake up yet, he was still really tired. And for some reason, he was sleeping over something really comfortable. Barry knew that he was on a motel but the bed didn’t feel like this last night.

“What’s going on?” he heard a voice coming from above his head.

Barry looked up just to see Eddie looking back at him. Barry was snuggled against the detective’s chest, they had ended up like this over the night.

Barry quickly got up to let Eddie accommodate into the bed, but as the detective tried to get up he started to feel a strong headache that made him stop to lay down again on the bed. That didn’t stop the detective from asking question.

“Where are we?” his throat was sore and his voice came out a little bit rough.

“We are at a motel room” Barry quickly realized that it was not the best way to start a conversation with an almost naked guy with a hangover. Trying to escape the situation he quickly made his way to the bathroom to get the detective some water. But seeing as there was not a cup or something he made his way out of the room and ran to the nearest pharmacy where he got a box of aspirins and a bottle of water.

He entered the room to see that Eddie had put on his tank top. Barry gave him the items but didn’t say anything else.

“Thanks” the detective said.

They didn’t say a word after that. After a few minutes Eddie got dressed and Barry went to the bar to get Eddie’s keys that the bartender had confiscated.

“We should get going” Barry was not sure if Eddie remembered anything of what happened last night, he didn’t want to ask because he was dreading having a deep conversation of the meaning of the previous night, “Iris is worried”.

As much as he had enjoyed what had happened, he was afraid of asking.

Eddie had the worst hangover so they decided to drive back home, Barry knew that he could run faster than the car but he didn’t want to risk Eddie getting sick because of the effects of his superspeed.

The drive back home was silent, it was not an awkward silence. But it still felt awful.

Just as he parked in front of Eddie’s apartment, he could feel the atmosphere changing. He turned to look at Eddie who was looking back at him. Barry wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what.

“I have an amazing health insurance” Eddie said and started to laugh just to groan a few moments later because of the pain.

“What?”

“Well, you don’t actually need it because you have like super healing or something like that”

Barry couldn’t believe it.

Eddie was listing another benefit of them getting married.

He was unbelievable.


End file.
